Photograph by: Greg Halinda
, Edmonton Journal

EDMONTON - When it comes to the workplace in Alberta, government and industry like to play it safe.

Properly trained employees are aware of their surroundings and co-workers, while safe work sites mean fewer injuries.

And as an added benefit, there’s a correlation between safety and productivity, said James Gibbins, the executive director of Building Trades of Alberta (BTA), an organization comprised of 16 trade unions and 20 locals representing 75,000 Alberta tradespeople.

“The good news is most of the progressive employers and contractors understand that safety is related to productivity. If you have a safe work site, and people working safely, that impacts a greater level of productivity.”

If that’s not incentive enough for industry to take safety seriously, then maybe the threat of a hefty fine will.

The Protections and Compliance Statutes Amendment Act, part of Bill 6, went into effect on Dec. 10. It made six amendments to the Alberta Occupational Health and Safety Act, including an administrative penalty up to $10,000 — which can apply per violation, per day — for companies ignoring safety codes.

A second change gives safety officers the authority to request that workers identify themselves to ensure they’re qualified to be on-site.

“This is all about ensuring that those who would put workers in danger are held accountable,” Merritt said.

However, Merritt emphasizes that workplace safety is a three-way intersection of government, employers and employees.

For skilled tradesworkers, whether they’re boilermakers or bricklayers, safe performance is plotted along the path of apprenticeship. But many employers, such as Syncrude, require tradespeople to complete on-the-job courses.

There are hundreds of courses in Syncrude’s inventory. For example, power line technicians are required to do aerial work training, which simulates rising 20 metres into the air in a basket.

Syncrude’s safety manager learned the value of being properly prepared after a motorcycle accident.

In her first season of biking, Marlene Lane took a hard spill that cracked her windshield.

“I could have been injured, if I wasn’t wearing my safety gear,” said Lane, who walked away unharmed.

“Understanding the risks to motorcycle activity was really important to make sure the right controls were in place,” she said, “just like in the workplace.”

For the 5,000-plus tradespeople and labourers on the oil giant’s two Fort McMurray refineries, these controls are instilled through “a culture of intervention,” which Lane said is paramount.

The BTA’s Gibbins agreed. “ You can have a binder filled with safety procedures, but when you’re working in a field, it’s about caring about the people working around you and knowing they care about you.”

At Building Trades of Alberta, each trade union in the organization offers comprehensive training at its facilities. With a $15 million to $20 million operating budget, Gibbins said it’s the largest privately funded training facility in Canada.

“We have a lot of young workers and, with the booming economy, a lot of workers coming from outside Alberta, especially in the trades,” said Lisa Glover, public affairs officer with OHS.

“We have newcomers coming from jurisdictions with different rules and regulations, but just because it was appropriate there, doesn’t mean it meets a standard here.”

“You can get a range of behaviours, [including] the invincible, I-can-lift-a-hundred-pounds-without-any-devices-helping-me kind.”

According to the Alberta Workers’ Compensation Board, half of workplace accidents involving young people happen to those who have been on the job for six months or less.

Work Safety Alberta, a provincial initiative to reduce workplace injuries, states that young men are twice as likely to report a work injury than any other demographic. In its 2010 safety report, it stated that young oil and gas workers made up nearly 19 per cent of injuries claimed, but represented less than 10 per cent of the sector’s workforce.

It’s numbers like these that prompted the province to launch awareness campaign Bloody Lucky in 2010, a series of sometimes gory videos for the overconfident worker.

Aside from the number of list-time claims and fatal incidents, it shows whether companies have earned a certificate of recognition, indicating they have a health and safety program that meets Alberta Employment and Immigration’s standards.

“It’s an independent measure,” said Lane, “an indication of your level of safety. That’s what we look for when we contract companies to work on our site.”

The database also provides a snapshot of each sector’s general risks.

“Industries with different safety records might appeal to different people,” said Merritt.

Ken Gibson, executive director of the Alberta Construction Association, which educates 100,000 workers a year, supports such awareness measures, but thinks the education of private companies is lacking.

“There has to be an educational avenue on the government’s side to make sure employers and employees understand their role in complying with the [OHS] act,” he said.

We encourage all readers to share their views on our articles and blog posts. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion, so we ask you to avoid personal attacks, and please keep your comments relevant and respectful. If you encounter a comment that is abusive, click the "X" in the upper right corner of the comment box to report spam or abuse. We are using Facebook commenting. Visit our FAQ page for more information.